My Husband, My Enemy
by sadistic princess
Summary: Draco and Ginny are married? But how? Not only are they still studying at Hogwarts, the two HATE each other with a passion! And just WHY are they being graded for this? One thing's for sure, Dumbledore is to blame for this little project.
1. chap 1

**A/N: **Okay, I re-read this story and I decided it as horribly written. Sooo, I decided to re-write some parts of this chapter, but it's essentially the same. But, I did some major revising in the following chapters. I merged some of them and edited them a bit. So, there. :) read and review darlings!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Welcome to a new year here at Hogwarts! Let us also welcome Professor Mercedes, who is to be our new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher." Dumbledore motioned for a young woman to stand up.

Everyone clapped politely.

"Also," He continued, eyes twinkling. "A special project has been arranged for all sixth and seventh years. This project will hopefully strengthen inter-house relationships. Now, each of you will be paired up with another student who will act as your spouse for the whole year."

The great hall buzzed with murmurs of interest.

"You have to spend as much time as possible with your spouse. This project takes up to 50 of your grade. Various activities and… challenges will be set for you and your spouse and, an essay on the experience will be submitted at the end of the year. Partners will be announced tomorrow. Now, enjoy the feast."

"I hope I get Blaise." Parvati immediately gushed with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I don't care who I get as long as he isn't from Gryffindor." Ginny said.

"Ouch Gin. That hurt!" Harry feigned hurt when he overheard.

Ginny rolled her eyes and grinned.

Lavender laughed. "Well, I hope I don't get paired up with a Hufflepuff. They're all a bunch of pansies."

Ginny and Parvati agreed between giggles.

"I pity those in serious relationships who get paired with other people." Ginny said solemnly.

"Oh yeah. Definitely." Lavender nodded.

"Though, that wouldn't be such a problem. The only _serious_ couples in our years would be Michael and Padma, Dean and Hannah and the unofficial couple, Ron and Hermione." Parvati declared.

Ginny and Lavender shot strange looks at Parvati.

"What? I make it a point to know." Parvati replied defensively.

* * *

"What a ridiculous idea." Draco muttered to himself as soon as Dumbledore finished his announcement.

"I hope I don't get paired with anyone from Hufflepuff." Pansy said, wrinkling her nose. "Or Gryffindor."

"Gryffindors aren't _that_ bad." Blaise interjected.

Draco snorted. "Yeah sure. Just because you like- ow!" Draco shot a withering look at Blaise.

"Who _do_ you like exactly?" Pansy asked suspiciously, gleeful at the fact that she may find some information she may use for blackmailing threats later on.

"No one!" Blaise argued.

"It's that Indian girl isn't it?"

"No." Blaise answered a little too quickly.

Draco rolled his eyes. His friend was being pathetically obvious.

Pansy grinned evilly. "We'll see about that."

* * *

"AGH!!! I swear Snape has something against me! I just walk through the door and he says '5 points from Gryffindor Ms. Weasley.'" Ginny mimicked her professor. She growled a bit then plopped down to sit beside Parvati.

"Aren't you excited Gin? They're announcing our husbands tonight!" Lavender squealed.

"Oh. I forgot about that." Ginny answered, a bit wary.

"Look. I think Dumbledore's about to announce them!" Parvati nodded at the headmaster's direction, who was indeed standing up.

A scroll magically appeared in front of him, silencing all students.

"Before we eat the delicious meal the house elves have prepared for us, I am sure you'd all want to know who your partners are."

All students subconsciously nodded their heads silently.

Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Seamus Finnigan and Shameeka Stone-"

Ginny tuned the headmaster out and sneaked bits of mashed potatoes into her mouth when no one was looking.

"Lavender Brown and Dave Osment-"

"Who's Dave Osment?" Lavender asked.

"Slytherin. Seventh year. Lean, blond, blue eyed, tanned, hot." Parvati pointed to the Slytherin table. "Friends with Draco, Blaise and Pansy."

"It kind of scares me to think of how you know all of this." Lavender commented as she stared at her "husband". Suddenly, he turned to look at her and grinned.

Lavender smirked back.

"I think I might actually enjoy this." She announced.

"Good for you." Ginny commented and snuck a bite of pork.

She tuned out Dumbledore again and faintly heard him say-

"Parvati Patil and Blaise Zabini…"

Lavender had to hold Parvati down to keep her from jumping around, dancing and thus losing her pride.

"I'm really happy for you." Ginny grinned at her dazed friend.

"Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger…"

"I bet that wasn't a 'random' pick." Lavender pointed out bluntly.

"Pansy Parkinson and Dean Thomas…"

Dumbledore ignored Pansy's shriek of protest.

"Harry Potter and Virginia-" Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Bloomwood…"

Maybe she was forgotten. Ginny hopefully thought so. Maybe she wouldn't have to do the project…

"And last but not the least… Ginerva Weasley and Draco Malfoy. Have fun and tuck in." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

Noticing everyone from Gryffindor was staring at her, Ginny looked around at them self-consciously.

"We're allowed to eat now aren't we? Oh! And those uh… mashed p-potatoes. I don't know what happened to them honest! I was just sitting here and they just… vanished!" She exclaimed.

Parvati slapped her to wake her up.

"You crazy girl! Weren't you listening? You got paired up with the hottest guy in school!"

"Really? I'm sorry. I wasn't really listening." Ginny blushed guiltily. "The mashed potatoes were really interesting to look at. Now, please enlighten me. Who _is_ the hottest guy in school?"

"I cant believe you weren't listening! Ginny! It's Draco Malfoy!"

Ginny dropped her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"What?!" She shrieked before she started swearing in French.

"Wow. I didn't know Ginny knew French. Parvati said, impressed.

"She knows Greek, Spanish and Italian too." Hermione informed them, beaming with pride.

"Cool." Parvati commented, glancing at the still swearing redhead.

* * *

"Bloody hell! Did Dumbledore just say what I think he said?" Blaise exclaimed.

"You got paired up with the love of your life. I get paired up with a dim-witted Gryff. Congratulations." Pansy said bitterly.

"No. Well, yes. But there's something else."

"What was it? I wasn't really listening. I kind of lost Dumbledore when he said delicious meal prepared by house elves." Draco explained.

"I swear Draco you can be amazingly ignorant sometimes." Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Did you even hear who your wife is?" Blaise asked,

"No."

Blaise sighed exasperatedly at his friend's bluntness.

"It's the Weasel chick."

"What?!"

"You know. The gorgeous fiery redhead who's a rather impressive swearer." He nodded at the still swearing Ginny.

"I know that." Draco snapped. "There just has to be some mistake."

"Why? She's doable. She has my approval." Pansy stated.

Now all three turned to look over to the Gryffindor table- specifically at the still swearing Ginny.

Wine red hair, creamy skin, cinnamon freckles sprinkled around her button nose, cherry lips, chocolate brown, long lashed eyes with golden flecks around it's pupil, wonderful body…

Blaise let out a low whistle. "Very impressive swearer."

"Okay. So she's a _bit_ attractive. But that doesn't mean we're not going to kill each other within five minutes of 'quality time'."

"Whatever Draco." Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're too picky. I know a whole lot of guys who would kill to be in your place." Then she proceeded to eating her salad. "And at least you don't have Thomas.." Pansy added, disdainfully wrinkling her nose.

"At least you don't have-"

"Shut up Blaise, We all know you love Parvati." Draco scowled, cutting his friend off.

"I was going to say Bullstrode but-" he shrugged. "I'm not complaining about my wife." He flashed them a cheeky grin.

Pansy growled at him.

"Stupid Dumbledore and stupid project." Draco muttered under his breath before breaking into a stream of colorful curses.

"You're going to get along just fine mate! See, you both have a talent for swearing!" Blaise grinned mischievously.

Pansy slapped him at the back of his head.

"Stupid oaf. Just because you get Parvati you're all 'you're going to get along just fine mate'." Pansy mimicked in a high voice.

"Yeah." Draco agreed. "Just because you're happy with your partner, you think you're all that."

"Oh believe me, I'm not the only one happy with my partner. I'm just the only one who isn't afraid to admit it." Blaise smirked as Draco and Pansy threw matching aggravated looks at him and then hesitant glances at the Gryffindor table.

"This is going to be an interesting year."

* * *


	2. chap 2

**Most of the changes were made in this chapter, and the next. I tried to merge some of them in my attempt to re-write this fic and make it "better". I hope you guys still like it. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"So… how are you and Dave going?" Ginny asked Lavender conversationally as they walked slowly towards the courtyard to meet Parvati and her 'husband'.

"Fine." Lavender shrugged casually, but her nonchalance was soon betrayed by her glittering eyes. "We're meeting for dinner. How bout you and Draco?"

Ginny's face contorted into disgust. "_Please_. If I were you, I wouldn't be surprised if Malfoy ends up in the Hospital Wing any time soon. But it is nice to know you're getting along well with Dave."

"I almost feel sorry for Malfoy." Lavender replied sympathetically. "Oh look, there's Parvati!" She waved.

Parvati looked all glow-y, sitting on a picnic blanket under a humongous tree, Blaise right beside her.

"Hey! How are you guys?" Parvati asked.

"Great!" Lavender replied.

"If you took no heed of my murderous thoughts, you could say I'm feeling just peachy" Ginny answered flatly.

"Malfoy can't be _that_ bad." Parvati smiled at her reassuringly.

"Oh yes he is. He's more than _that bad_." Ginny sighed and plopped down to sit opposite Parvati.

"No he isn't."

Ginny turned to gaze at her friend's husband, a 'what-do-you-expect?' look on her face. Of course he would defend Draco. They were best friends.

"Oh, sure, I suppose he could be considered a decent human being if he we broke his arms _and _legs, blinded him and permanently removed his vocal chords." Ginny replied flatly.

"Speaking of Malfoy…" Lavender trailed off.

Ginny turned to the direction Lavender was looking at. And he just had to be making out with a Ravenclaw.

"Grace Witherward?" Blaise's face contorted into disgust.

"Is he _that_ desperate?" Parvati wrinkled her nose.

"I thought students who engaged in public displays of affection with a person who isn't their spouse get points deducted from their project?" Lavender asked, a bemused expression on her face. "But then again, I could be wrong."

"What?! I don't want any points deducted from my grade!" Ginny shrieked.

Getting up quickly and ignoring or probably not noticing the leaves stuck to her skirt, she hurried towards the snogging couple.

"Oh… he's in for it now." Lavender exclaimed rather gleefully. She did enjoy Malfoy's verbal bashings as much as the next person. Especially when it was being done my Ginny Weasley.

"Oh? Interesting." Blaise smirked.

"Malfoy you adulterous, obnoxious prat! What kind of a husband are you?! If you want to cheat on me, learn to do it properly! You may be losing us valuable points here!" Not finding any more English words to say, she started screaming at him in Spanish. "Next time you have the urge to indulge in impure activities, GO FIND A ROOM!" She finished, huffing and stormed back to her friends.

"You sure told him." Parvati congratulated her as the redhead had seemingly calmed down.

"Stupid git deserved it." She grumbled. "I meant every word I said."

"Where'd you learn to speak in Spanish?"

"Oh." Ginny grinned at the unexpected comment. "It helps when you have a large family. You get relatives from all over the world, some cousins who don't even know how to speak in English so the only way to communicate with them is to learn their language. Ron on the other hand, would rather say a few idiotic phrases to communicate with them."

Blaise snorted. "Figures."

"Hey, isn't that Dave?" Ginny asked, pointing at a guy with golden hair.

"Oh yeah! Hey Dave!" Lavender grinned, waving at her husband.

He spotted her, grinned and walked over.

"Hey." He greeted with a gorgeous half smile.

"Take a seat." Lavender patted the space beside her.

Dave happily obeyed.

"So… who are your friends?" He asked.

"That's Parvati…and you should know Blaise…and that fuming redhead is Ginny."

"Hey." He nodded at them. "What's up with Ginny?"

"She's afraid Malfoy's PDA with this Ravenclaw may pull down their grade." Parvati informed him.

Both of Dave's eyebrows rose up. "What? So she's not mad at him for cheating on her?"

"I'm mad at him!" Ginny replied indignantly. "Only for a different reason."

"If I remember correctly, she advised him to cheat on her properly and go find a room." Blaise supplied.

Dave laughed. "Wish I'd seen that."

"Oh look… Grace's flirting with him again." Lavender announced.

They turned to watch Grace toy with Draco's tie slyly and whisper something in their ear. They both got up and headed for the castle.

"I'm happy he took my advice…and my threats seriously." Ginny said, a self-satisfied look on her face.

"What exactly _did_ you tell him?" Parvati asked.

"Let's just say it has something to do with a few well placed hexes and castration."

Lavender snickered. "And how would you happen to know how to perform those hexes?"

Ginny smirked. "Extensive reading of course."

* * *

The moment the two had entered the Ravenclaw Common Room, Grace fused mouths with Draco, depriving him of his air and kissing him a bit violently, with a lot more wetness than he could be comfortable with. Disgusted, Draco pushed her roughly away. 

Seeing this as a come on, Grace slithered back him, only to be pushed away again.

"What?" She asked the annoyance obvious in her voice as she reapplied her lip gloss.

Draco ignored her and turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Grace demanded.

"Away from you." Draco replied coolly. "Bye." Draco nodded at her and narrowly missed the shoe Grace threw at him in frustration.

"Agh!!!" She screamed.

* * *

"Your husbands are nice. Not like _someone_ I know whose name I am not mentioning." Ginny commented. "I don't know why I have to get stuck with such a worthless prat." 

"He's not worthless. It's always nice to stare at him." Parvati pointed out.

"What about Blaise? He wouldn't feel so happy when he finds out you think his best friend is hot." Lavender said.

"He's hot too. Burning hot. Really, really, really hot." Parvati's eyes glazed over.

Lavender and Ginny snickered.

"Weasley!"

Funny, that voice sounded an awful lot familiar.

Ginny whirled around.

"Oh. It's _you_. Aren't you supposed to be making out with some random girl in the _privacy_ of your bedroom or something?" Ginny folded her arms across her chest.

"Aren't you supposed to be kissing _Potter's feet_ or something?" He retorted.

"Why you-" Ginny moved to tackle him.

Draco tried to avoid her but ended up falling on top of her when she grabbed onto his robes for support.

They stared at each other for a while, faces only inches apart.

Someone coughed behind them.

They both craned their necks to see Parvati looking around, pretending she wasn't there and Lavender studying her perfectly manicured nails, looking smug.

Draco quickly got up and dusted off his robes.

Ginny stayed on the floor, waiting for Draco to offer her a hand.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat.

Draco turned to look at her, a nonchalant expression on his face. "Yes?" He could have fooled anyone with the innocent expression on his face.

"Try to be a nice, _useful_ husband and help me up." Ginny demanded through gritted teeth.

"Why?"

"Because I'm your wife and it is a well-known fact that men follow their wife's every command. It's an unwritten law."

"Well, I'm not like any other man." Draco replied haughtily.

"Okay. So you're gay. Maybe filing a divorce would have been a good idea after all."

Draco pulled Ginny up roughly.

"I am not gay. The very notion is simply… _ludicrous_!" Draco spat out.

Ginny laughed. "Whatever Malfoy. Well, bye!"

"Yeah. Whatever you cunning Gryffindor trollop." He muttered and walked away.

* * *


	3. chap 3

**more major changes can be found in this chapter. :)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3 **

It was only the sixth day of their so-called marriage and already Ginny found herself wanting to strangle Malfoy.

"Malfoy!! Will you please get over yourself and stop sulking about this stupid project already? I'm not exactly ecstatic about our predicament either you know."

"I am not sulking Weasel. So why don't you get over yourself and start making an effort to look like a decent human being." Draco replied spitefully, not really as a request but more as a demand. He looked down on his wife disdainfully and Ginny's cheeks just had to flush as she studied how she looked like.

Her blouse was buttoned the wrong way, making her vest bulk around her stomach. Her tie was haphazardly strewn over, not even properly knotted, her skirt was a bit askew, one of her thigh high socks were sagging around her calf and the other was stretched to the top and her Mary Janes were ridiculously battered. Her bright red hair was separated into two messy braids.

"Er… In case you didn't notice, Draco dearest," Ginny said, her voice practically laced with ice, "I don't really prioritize my looks. Unlike you, I think spending an hour in front of the mirror, doing my hair, is a waste of time." And with airy eloquence, she added, "I've better things to do."

"Excuse _you _Ginerva, but I don't have to spend an hour fixing my hair. Some people are just naturally gorgeous."

He was serious.

Ginny just stared at him for a while, and she hated to admit that he was right. He really was gorgeous. And always annoyingly impeccable.

"So, if you're going to be my wife, you're going to have to start fixing yourself up. No more rolling out of the bed and putting on the first thing you see. And try to be fully awake before you start putting on your uniform." He looked pointedly at her blouse.

"Er…right. Whatever Malfoy. But you're going to have to stop picking on my family. It's really getting old you know."

"Yeah, whatever. Don't forget our stupid bonding session by the lake later." Draco wanted to hit himself for being the one to remind Ginny.

"Whatever."

And with one last look at each other, they turned around and walked back to their common rooms.

* * *

"Ginny! Oh my God. Blaise is absolutely perfect. I love this project." Parvati sighed into her coffee cup as she gazed at the Slytherin table.

Ginny just stared at her.

"I hate this project." And she started loading her plate with bagels and cream cheese.

"Oh Ginny. You'll get used to him. I mean, you're really lucky even. Some people are stuck with students who are arrogant _and_ ugly. At least you got the hottest guy in school." Lavender patted Ginny's shoulder consolingly.

"I'm not really sure how that's supposed to make me feel better." Ginny grumbled and bit into a bagel.

* * *

"Thank God that weasel is starting to dress properly. I can't believe she's my partner. I hate this project." Draco grumbled and loaded his plate with fruits and cottage cheese.

"Oh come on Draco. She's very beautiful, even when she isn't fixed up." Pansy bit into a strawberry. "And at least you aren't partners with that stupid Thomas. Ugh, I swear I am going to scream when he makes me apologize to those moronic Hufflepuffs when I make fun of them again."

"Yeah, she really is beautiful. Yesterday, I heard a bunch of Gryffs grumbling about how lucky you are to get Ginny as your partner, and you don't even like each other." Blaise commented, then looked at the Gryffindor table. "Anyway, I'm really enjoying this project. I think it's a great way to err, cultivate our inter-house relationships."

Draco snorted. "Yeah right. You're only enjoying this project because you got that Patil girl as your partner. God knows you've been in love with her forever."

"So it's true then. I just can't believe he told you and not me." Pansy looked a bit annoyed.

"He never really said anything. It's just ridiculously obvious." Draco drawled.

"Oh, this definitely explains the countless times I've caught him staring at the Gryff's table." Pansy said, grinning maliciously.

"Stop it." Blaise grumbled.

His two friends laughed cruelly.

"Shut uuuuup!" Only a Slytherin could whine like that and still look perfectly sophisticated.

* * *

Ginny wasn't exactly in one of the best moods ever. She had gotten up an hour before her usual time so she could follow Malfoy's advice, no less, and "make an effort". Although she had actually put on her uniform properly and surprisingly, brushed her hair, she skipped what most girls in their school put on every morning (including Hermione): make up. First of all, she didn't know how to put on the damned thing. And second, she didn't have any. Lord knows she didn't have the money to splurge on the ridiculous cakes of colored powder.

Then there was that added period ever day after class for the spouses to bond. An hour alone with her so-called husband, _bonding_. Ginny shuddered at the thought and wondered whether she could make it out of this project alive.

The day was like all normal school days, boring and frustrating. But then she had the bonding session to get over. Joy of joys.

"Hello my darling." Draco greeted her flatly when Ginny showed up at their assigned meeting place: the lake. This was really unfortunate (or fortunate) for them since they were the only couple outside the school.

"Shut up Draco. I am so not in the mood. I brushed my hair for you." Ginny grumbled.

"Nice to see you dressed up for me." Draco smirked, ignoring Ginny's comment.

Ginny eyed his black ensemble. The same thing he had worn earlier that day when he had verbally harassed her and threatened her to meeting him.

But then, she could be overreacting.

She rolled her eyes. "I was attacked by two shopping-obsessed, demented seventh year females. It actually almost makes me ashamed to admit my being friends with them, seeing that they're a bit…delusional. Why they think I should dress up for you is beyond me."

Draco smirked in amusement. "Lavender and Parvati?" He supplied.

"Ye- hey! Why is it that you call them by their first names and you call me anything but?" Ginny cried indignantly.

"They're wives of two friends of mine." He answered simply.

Ginny's eyes widened. "I'm your freakin' wife Malfoy! Je n'y crois pas! (_I don't believe this!)_"

Draco shrugged and turned his back on her. "I admit I'm still in denial."

Ginny's eyes looked like they could burn up a whole continent right then and there. She did the first thing that came to her mind. She threw her shoe at him, which hit him squarely on the back of his head.

"Ow woman! What is it with you girls and throwing shoes at dashing young males such as myself?! Tu es fou!? _(are you crazy?!)_"

Ginny shot him an annoyed look. Even at times like this, he still could act like an egotistical prat.

"That's the first time I ever threw a shoe at you. Though the next time you aggravate me, I assure I will throw something bigger." Ginny threw him a pointed look. "And heavier."

"Oh, sure. And when I die and everyone hunts for my murderer, all evidence will point to you- the jealous, schizophrenic wife."

"Ti ammazzo! _(I'm going to kill you!)_" Ginny shrieked, feeling the ground for something to throw at him.

"Oh, come on. Violence is not the answer."

"Look who's talking." Ginny shot back, weighing the rock she was holding to see if it was heavy enough.

"I'm sure we can resolve this in some other way. If you kill me now, you're going to fail the project! We wouldn't want that would we?"

Ginny looked at him blankly, sighed then let the rock fall to the floor.

"Whatever Draco."

"I'm glad we're on a first name basis now. So, Trelawny gave me this stupid sheet of paper. We're supposed to get to know each other," Draco punctuated this statement with a little eye roll, "by answering the questions."

He read the questions silently and snorted. "Some 'getting to know you' activity this is."

"What does it say exactly?" Ginny asked curiously.

"The usual. Favorite color, food, animal... have you ever been in love, do you believe in love at first sight and all that crap."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Figures that Trelawny wrote that. Let's get this over with… Let's both write down our answers for the favorites part and we can proceed to the… more complicated questions." Ginny said, a bit uncomfortably.

The two scribbled away, occasionally stealing glances at each other's answers.

"What did you answer in 'If you caught your spouse cheating on you, what would you do?'" Ginny asked.

"I chose E, leave them be and cheat on my spouse too. If he/she can do it, I can too!'" Draco answered flatly.

Ginny shrugged. "Works for me."

A few minutes later, Draco finished and he patiently waited for Ginny to finish.

"Now for the… complicated questions." Ginny said uneasily. "You ask first."

Draco cleared his throat. "Have you ever gone all the way?"

"What the _fuck_?" Ginny's eyes instantly widened. Draco couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Okay, I'm kidding. I made up that question."

"Well, _duh_."

Draco ignored Ginny's lack of humor. "The first question is, 'have you ever engaged in a relationship with one of the opposite sex?'"

Ginny looked warily at him, only half believing that this was a real question. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Er…yes."

"Hmm…I think McGonagall should've been more specific with her questions. What does she mean by 'relationship exactly? A sexual one? A, er…romantic…one?" Draco looked genuinely perplexed. Ginny just stared at him, not sure whether she should agree or act disgusted or both.

"How about…both?" Ginny asked, starting to get "in the mood".

"Well, sexual…we both know the answer to that. As for romantic…none." Draco finished airily. "So were your relationships sexual or romantic?"

"Oh God, I can't believe I'm talking to you about this." Ginny murmured into her palms, then looked up at him again.

"The other one was romantic."

If Draco was surprised, he didn't show it.

"Next question…okay, how stupid. This isn't even a question. It says, 'describe your family'."

Ginny thought over the question for a moment before answering, while silently wondering why Draco hadn't beat her to her explanation by insulting her family yet again.

"My family is ridiculously big but I love every one of them. It may be a pain to have 5 older brothers who don't know the meaning of privacy but they're great. We're not exactly filthy rich like some people," Ginny shot him a hard look, "but we get by."

"Interesting. Well I have a very small family. My dad, contrary to popular belief, is actually very decent and funny. He is _not_ a death eater." He shot Ginny a pointed look, "My mother is warm and loving and my brother is very playful and affectionate."

"You have a brother?" Ginny spluttered, still surprised at all the words Malfoy used to describe his family. Warm, funny, loving…affectionate?? What???

"Yeah. He's 5."

"What's his name?"

"Damien. Okay shut up now. 'What job do you wish to pursue once you graduate?'"

"Umm…I think I want to put up my own book shop."

"I'm going to put up a real estate company. And I'll also start a chain of wand shops." Draco said with certainty laced in his voice.

"Er…right. This is nice, we have common interests. We both, uh, are interested in entrepreneurship." Ginny said, only half joking.

"Right. Next up, 'what values do you stand for?'" Draco snickered a bit. _Values_. Didn't Trelawny have better things to talk about?

"I stand for equality, respect, perseverance…uh, that's it."

"Perfection." Draco answered simply, like that was that.

Ginny just had to roll her eyes at that. Stupid Malfoy and his stupid perfection.

"Ooh, interesting question." Draco smirked at the piece of paper.

Ginny tried to steal a look at the paper, only he wouldn't let her, causing them to wrestle and jostle each other a little bit.

"What? What is it?"

"Now, now, aren't we impatient? It says, 'what qualities do you look for in the opposite sex?'" Draco said a bit smugly, as if he found the question ridiculously funny.

"Well, umm…" Ginny stuttered. "I'm not really sure. I just don't like the clingy types."

"Same here." Draco nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, just staring at the ripples the giant quid made in the lake.

"So, umm, no more questions?" Ginny said, her voice getting caught in her throat.

"No. No more questions."

The two spent another 5 minutes or so in silence, alternately staring at the lake and shooting glances at each other.

"Oh shoot! I didn't realize it was getting so late! We missed dinner Malfoy." Ginny grumbled. "And I was getting really hungry too."

"I have no problem with that. I'm going to the kitchens." Draco stood up and brushed the inexistent dirt off his pants and sweater, then looked at Ginny. "You coming?"

"You are asking me to go to the kitchens…with you."

"Fine, then don't come." Draco shrugged and started walking away, secretly feeling a bit disappointed.

"No, no, I'm coming!" Ginny yelped as she jumped on to her feet and hurried after Draco. "I'll even race you there." Ginny added with a mischievous grin.

"What? And give me the privilege of seeing your knickers? Are you sure?" Draco mocked Ginny, actually acting a bit gentlemanly.

"Oh right. Ugh, I forgot I was wearing this stupid skirt. But I bet you were just afraid of the possibility of a Gryffindor, let alone a girl younger than you, beating you!" Ginny cackled a bit, but stopped when she saw that Draco had already started sprinting towards the kitchens.

"Hey Malfoy, that isn't fair!" She screamed and ran after him.

"You are such a cheater." Ginny huffed when she got within hearing range from him.

Draco smirked back at her and said, "I'm not cheating. I'm running as slow as I can."

"Yeah right Malfoy. What an excuse." Draco sprinted away with such velocity before Ginny could even roll her eyes.

A few minutes later, Ginny got to the fruit painting, huffing really heavily, and just glared at Malfoy, who leaned casually against the wall, looking as impeccable as ever; and if possible, even more handsome, since the run had caused his blood to rush to his cheeks.

Ginny, on the other hand, had disheveled hair and a really, really pink face; she knew this since she was able to take a glance at her reflection from the enormous mirror hanging across the fruit painting.

"Took you long enough." Draco matched his casual statement with a glance at his fingernails to add to his air of nonchalance.

"You cheated." Ginny punctuated each word with a huge intake of air.

Draco smirked and turned around to whisper the password to the painting.

"After you." He bowed mockingly and looked at her with that ridiculous smug expression of his.

Ginny thrust her chin up and with a huff, flounced airily inside.

Almost immediately, a swarm of house elves flocked around them, asking them what they wanted. They soon settled for a huge banana split for them to share, after the surprising revelation of Draco's fondness for chocolate ice cream.

"I can't believe you like ice cream." Ginny murmured as she plucked the cherry and bit into it. "I mean, why wouldn't you? But then again, it's you! You like ice cream!"

"Get over it Weasley." Draco scooped a spoonful of chocolate ice cream drowned in whipped cream, chocolate syrup, nuts, marshmallows and candy sprinkles and shoved in his mouth. Gracefully. Wow.

They ate in silence for a while, with the occasional drip of conversation and exchanges of questions.

Ginny hummed in delight. "This is really delicious. I love ice cream. I have a theory that if you made Voldemort eat ice cream, he would turn to the good side."

Ginny's eyes widened when she realized what she just said. Word vomit did it again. She stared at the huge mound of ice cream in front of them and sat in silence.

"That's a pretty senseless theory. Funny but senseless." Draco replied after some time.

Funny? He thought her theory was funny!

"Whatever Malfoy. I don't hear you putting forward any theories yourself."

That sounded like a challenge.

"Okay. I have a theory," Draco paused for effect, "that if you learned how to fix yourself properly and if you had a fringe, you would look a little like Alessandra Bond."

Ginny, although feeling a bit out of it, was taken aback. Alessandra was an extremely beautiful and an extremely popular model in the wizard world. To be compared to her was just…it was just…you know, wow.

"Really?" Ginny spat out in disbelief. "Are you sure Malfoy?" No one had ever really told her she was beautiful before. Or in this case, implied that she was.

"It was just a theory Weasley." Draco replied flatly.

"Umm, okay. Sure." Ginny looked at Draco carefully, and watched him eat the rest of the ice cream in intense concentration for a while before turning her attention to the ice cream as well.

As the ice cream slowly neared its demise, Ginny's head seemed to feel lighter and lighter.

"Whew, that was tiring." Ginny giggled incessantly after.

Draco just looked at her. "Whatever. Let's go back to our rooms. It's getting late."

"Okie dokie Malfoy. This night was fun. It reminds me of this French song about…" Ginny trailed off and began humming and dancing around with an imaginary partner with her eyes closed and a silly, dreamy smile plastered on her face.

Ye gods. Draco thought as he watched her dance by herself for a while. She looked so innocent and angelic. And a bit high.

"What the heck." Draco shrugged after a while and strode over to her, smoothly slipped is arm across her waist and grasped her right hand lightly.

Ginny opened her eyes slowly, not looking surprised at all.

"Not bad, Weasley." Draco drawled.

She closed her eyes and smiled. "My aunt was a professional ballroom dancer and ballerina. And you're pretty good too, Malfoy."

She pirouetted a bit, for the first time, moving gracefully and smoothly. Suddenly, they found themselves staring at each other, their faces getting closer and closer.

For a moment there, Draco wondered what it would feel like to kiss Ginny Weasley on the lips. When he decided to find out himself, Ginny promptly fainted.

* * *


	4. chap 4

**HELLO EVERYONE! I did some major editing here. chapter 1 didn't have any drastic changes, but chapters 2 and 3 did. as for this chapter, i added a few things and re-wrote it a bit. but all in all, it still has the same plot and such.**

**i'm sorry for not updating for so long but i promise that i am not going to abandon this story. i always hated it when other authors did that, so i can't go doing the same thing right? haha. i WILL finish it, although it might take me some time, as i have school to worry about and there is also that thing called writer's block. **

**if you have any ideas as to how the ball should go, feel free to message me or just state your ideas in your review. **

**i'm looking forward to all your feedback:)**

**oh, and P.S. i have a new story, Something To Talk About and i'm quite proud of myself because i actually did something responsible and plotted out the entire story before hand. so i would really appreciate it if you read and reviewed that story as well:)**

**and one more thing, i hope you don't get sick of this message as i will be posting this same one in the next chapter. :P**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Draco watched the youngest Weasley stagger to the Gryffindor Table for breakfast in amusement, knowing she had a hang over. She definitely looked like it too.

Her blouse was inside out, both her knee highs were sagging around her ankles, her mary janes were unbuckled , her soaked hair was plastered to her pale, pasty face and she had purple smudges under her eyes.

He also watched her allow her friends to tut at her and take advantage of her dazed state by casting spells at her behind her back, thus drying her hair and puling it back with a green headband, allowing a few shorter strands of her hair frame her face, adjusting her uniform, applying a bit of makeup on her and casting a spell on her socks to keep them from sagging.

He watched her friends smile smugly and nod in satisfaction. He had a feeling they were thinking, "If only Ginny was always like this… we could fix her up without her even noticing!"

He smirked to himself. He didn't have a problem with that.

Just then, he remembered what had happened the night before. He groaned. He thought the alcohol he drank last night would make him too hung over to remember what happened. His head didn't even hurt. It was almost as if alcohol didn't affect him anymore.

* * *

_She was staring at him with tired, smiling eyes and breathing heavily, after just dancing- raspberry lips moist and slightly open._

_He certainly would've stopped himself if he could but…well, he couldn't. He found himself leaning forward to kiss her._

_And what do you know, the moment he decided to do just that, she fainted in his arms! He groaned. Come on, was the thought of kissing him too much for her to handle? He knew he was irresistible but this was just…_

_Anyway, he has to take care of the situation immediately! He lifted her into his arms and stealthily made his way to the Gryffindor common room. God, she looked so peaceful… so innocent! Anyone who would sneak up on her while she was sleeping would never suspect that this sleeping angel was in fact a sly, malicious, conniving little witch. And her scent! She smelled sweet and spicy at the same time. A scent he had been particularly fond of ever since._

"_Fottuto" (fuck) he muttered to himself. This was not happening. He was not attracted to the Weasel. No way. Never._

_He bent his head and cursed himself; thus distracting him and making him bump into someone. The string of curses that escaped his lips could've made even Voldemort blush._

"_Draco? What are you doing here?"_

_Thank Merlin it was only Lavender._

"_Where's Gi- Oh my God! What happened to Ginny?!" Lavender exclaimed once her gaze dropped down to Draco's arms._

"_Would you shriek a little louder? I'm pretty sure you haven't perforated the ear drums of every wizard in Iceland." Draco replied a little sarcastically. "She fainted. And don't ask me why she did, because I don't have the answer to that."_

"_You're actually admitting that you don't know something." Lavender said, barely able to keep the surprise off her voice._

"_Oh, what a revelation!" Draco exclaimed flatly. _

_Just then, a house elf came scurrying up to them, looking absolutely terrified._

"_Jobie is sorry sirs and miss! Jobie accidentally added rum to Miss Weazy's ice cream! Me is sorry!" The house elf wailed._

"_It's okay! It's okay! We'll take care of her!" Lavender hurriedly consoled the house elf, in attempt to shut him up._

"_Just go back to the kitchen and clean and cook or something." Draco added._

"_But Jobie must punish himself!" The house elf continued wailing._

"_Merlin's beard, shut up!" Lavender cried._

"_Just leave!" Draco hissed._

_Jobie's head snapped up at his comment and scurried away._

_Lavender heaved a sigh of relief._

"_Look," Draco said, already recovered from the incident. "Bring Ginny back to her dorm. I'm sure you know how to take care of hang overs."_

"_Why? I can't carry her."_

"_Well, I don't know your password."_

_Lavender leaned forward and whispered, "Apple Jellybeans." Before whisking away._

_Draco didn't know where Lavender was going exactly, but he couldn't seem to muster an ounce of concern for the matter. He muttered something under his breath and moved towards the Fat Lady's portrait. The thin-deprived lady was too sleepy to even care who was there._

_He walked towards the couch of the thankfully empty common room to lay Ginny down. Arms still around his neck, Ginny stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at him sleepily and said,_

"_Thank you for carrying me here Draco. You're an excellent dancer."_

_Then she tilted her head up to kiss him softly on the lips._

* * *

He stole a glance at the redhead of the moment.

Did she remember?

Did he even _want_ her to remember?

* * *

"What's up Ginny? Are you sick or something?" Parvati asked, eyeing Ginny, who was lying face flat on the table.

"I know what's wrong with her. She's got a hang over. Drink some coffee. It helps." Lavender said, pushing a steaming cup of coffee towards her friend who reluctantly accepted.

"A what?!" Parvati shrieked incredulously.

"You know, when you're drunk the day before, leaving you with headaches and such." Lavender explained a bit sarcastically.

"I know that!" Parvati snapped.

"Of course you do. You've experienced it loads of times." Lavender snickered.

"How'd I get a hang over?" Ginny mumbled, sipping on her coffee.

Lavender filled the two in on the rum-in-ice cream- incident and ending with the Malfoy- carrying- Ginny- up- to- her- room incident.

"Malfoy carried Ginny to her room? That's sweet." Parvati gave a wistful sigh.

"No it's not!" Ginny said. "It's kind of… disturbing." Ginny couldn't believe she had to actually fake her shudder.

But then, Ginny suddenly stopped. She had a dream the night before. It was exactly how Lavender explained how Ginny got a hang over. Except… in the she ended up kissing Malfoy when he lay her down on the couch.

She had a sinking feeling that it hadn't all been a dream at all.

"Attention sixth and seventh year students!" Professor Trelawny yelled.

The Great Hall quieted down.

"Good morning students." She addressed. "As you all know, Halloween is drawing nearer. And as a test for all couples, a Masquerade will be held. A spell will be cast on each of you so that no one would recognize you and so you would not be able to give your name. Each person must be able to find their spouse by the end of the ball which is midnight by using what you learned about each other during the past weeks. I assure you that none of you will be able to cheat since an anti-cheating ward will be cast. Formal muggle attire is required. Enjoy."

* * *

**A/N: Anyway, I think the explanation for the masquerade ball is a bit vague so here's a bit of information:**

**Since a spell is cast on each person to make them er… unrecognizable, the students would not know which person their spouse is (obviously). He students are supposed to figure out which student their spouse is through… you know, what they learned about each other.**

**Yeah, pretty hard challenge for a few spouses who've only known each other for a few weeks. But you all have faith on our lovely couple don't you?**


	5. chap 5

**Thank you to SM who pointed out that my story lacked consistency. I made the necessary changes already. :) i really do need a beta reader.**

* * *

**CHAPTER 5**

"We need to wear formal muggle clothes?" Pansy didn't even bother to hide the disgust in her voice. "And I have to find Thomas through using what I've learned about him? Dear Merlin, we're so going to fail."

"This project just keeps getting more and more ridiculous." Draco mumbled darkly to himself.

"This is interesting. Balls are fun!"

Draco and Pansy shot Blaise twin looks of antipathy.

"You can't act any gayer than that, Zabini." Pansy said flatly.

Dave Osment laughed, suddenly deciding to join in on their conversation. "You two are just afraid you're going to fail the test." He said, referring to Pansy and Draco, who just glared at him in return.

"You think?" Pansy replied viciously. "I'm really hating McGonagall right now, for figuring out a spell to keep us from making any arrangements with our partner so we could cheat our way through the test."

The faculty really outdid themselves that time, as all the students only had to wear a mask over their eyes, but their entire identity would be concealed by a very complicated spell they had created. You could see a person's trademark red hair or such, and even hear the person's voice, but the identity of the person would remain anonymous. In other words, you can determine a student's identity through anything but his/her appearance or voice.

"When is the ball again?" Dave asked

"Two Saturdays from now, I think." Blaise replied thoughtfully.

"We're doomed." Pansy announced melodramatically before sinking her face into her hands. Draco just stared at a certain red head at the other side of the Great Hall, and decided to pay her a little visit.

* * *

"We're so going to fail this test." Ginny whimpered into her hands. "So, so going to fail. We're going to fail miserably."

"Oh, stop whining Ginny. You're going to do fine." Parvati waved her hand nonchalantly, as if the action would magically erase Ginny's worries.

"Easy for you to say. You actually _like_ your partner." Ginny grumbled darkly.

"Don't you like Draco, Ginny?" Lavender asked quietly, looking sincerely curious.

Ginny shot her friends a "what do you think?" glare. "No. I do not." Her voice was sharp and hard, and her two friends shot her curious glances.

"But he's being so nice to you." Lavender gently prodded.

"No he's not." The redhead replied quickly and stubbornly.

"Yes he is. He ate ice cream with you in the kitchens. He carried you to the common room when you got drunk. What part of that doesn't sound nice to you?" Parvati supplied a bit crossly.

"You're forgetting the parts where he engaged in public displays of affection, insulted my appearance and family, and the part where he beat me in our race to the kitchens because he CHEATED!"

"You raced to the kitchens?" Lavender repeated inquisitively, looking a bit amused. "That is so adorable."

"He cheated." Ginny hissed.

Much to her chagrin, her two friends merely laughed at her.

"He's vile, malicious, cruel…he's a cheating little dickhead and a lame excuse for a husband." Ginny grumbled.

"Oh, the sweet praises coming from your pretty little mouth never fail to make my heart go all a-flutter." A sarcastic voice said from behind them.

Ginny nearly shot up to the ceiling when she heard his voice. It was Draco. _Draco_ was _behind_ her. She turned to him slowly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him with as much dignity as she could muster.

Her two friends frantically moved to make her shut up.

"Don't worry about her, Draco. She's just especially cranky today. You know, with the hang over and everything." Parvati explained apologetically.

"Yes, I was just going to ask about that." Draco replied rather stiffly.

"I'm fine, Malfoy." Ginny shot back at him viciously.

"Someone's in a bad mood."

"Yes, I believe that is _your_ fault."

"Well umm, Ginny will see you later by the lake okay, Draco? Good bye!" Lavender hurriedly cut their exchange short as she waved Draco away.

Draco just nodded curtly and darted a glance at his wife before leaving. _Girls_. He thought to himself, making a mental eye roll.

* * *

**Okay, I understand that the chapter's a bit short, and it hardly has any D/G action, but I assure you that the following chapters will be filled with D/G goodness. :D**


	6. chap 6

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I just had a kind ****of major plot change****. Last chapter, Blaise said that the ball was going to be held in 4 days. I decided to ****change the date**** so it's going to be held in about 2 weeks or so. So if you want to check chapter 5 again, you will see that I have changed the date. :)**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**CHAPTER 6**

Ginny reclined against a tree beside the lake, sighing. She couldn't fathom why in the world Draco Malfoy would start acting nice to her, Ginny _Weasley_. And she couldn't even begin to comprehend why she kissed him. That is of course, assuming that she wasn't dreaming. But then again, why would she even _dream_ about kissing Draco Malfoy? It must've been a nightmare then.

Ginny shook her head a bit violently. The whole thing confused her, and she hated being confused.

"Hey." A smooth voice greeted her.

"Oh, hey M-Draco. I didn't see you coming."

"You were pretty deep in thought."

Ginny watched Draco silently as he sat himself down a few feet away from her.

"Er, sorry about earlier Mal-Draco. I was just feeling a bit cranky. And I'm sorry I keep on forgetting to call you by your first name…" She was babbling and she knew it.

Draco shot her a peculiar look, and she thought she might've seen something akin to surprise flash in his eyes, but it was gone in an instant, and she wondered whether she was imagining things.

"It's fine, Ginny."

"So umm, crazy test the ball is, huh? I'm kind of afraid we're not going to pass…" Ginny bit her lip, and started to look at Draco, but decided against it and allowed her eyes to rest on the lake instead.

Silence.

"Well, we can't really say for sure." Draco replied a bit later. His voice was quiet and calm, and his face was void of any expression. Save for a slight pout in his lower lip. It was barely even noticeable. But Ginny, Ginny noticed things.

"I guess. I don't really know much about you, and you don't know much about me."

"Then we obviously need to start getting to know each other more, don't you think?" Draco's tone was almost teasing, and this made Ginny glance at him sharply. She saw the amusement flicker in his eyes, and she broke into a smile.

"Well Malfoy, you better start talking then." She grinned at him cheekily.

She watched him lay back on the grass, fold his arm behind his head and gaze up at the sky. Ginny chewed on her lip again, before deciding that she wanted to do the same thing. She wordlessly crawled to Draco's side and assumed the same position.

Draco turned to look at her lazily. "Funny, I got the impression that you didn't want to be anywhere near me."

Ginny bit her lip again. She did an awful lot of lip biting when she was nervous or in thought, Draco noticed. "I said I was sorry about that." She mumbled.

Draco ignored her comment, but the side of his lips quirked slightly upwards. "So, what do you want to know about me?" He turned to gaze at the sky again.

"Anything, really. Hmm, you know what, I think we're going to learn more about each other if we just talked and… stuff." Ginny sat up and tucked her legs in, then rested her chin on her knee.

"That's true."

"So umm, well…okay."

Silence.

"Draco, we've spent the past 5 minutes in silence."

"I noticed."

Ginny bit her lip again and tilted her head up to gaze at the sky. The dark was beginning to consume the sky.

"Have you noticed that you bite your lip whenever you're nervous or deep in thought?"

Ginny turned to look at Draco. He was gazing at her with an unreadable expression on his face, as always. She couldn't help but blush and turn away.

"Your ears turn red when you're embarrassed, but when you're pleased your cheeks turn pink. You chew on your pinky when you're nervous too, I noticed." Draco vaguely wondered whether he was coming off as the stalker type. But then again, it wasn't his fault he was observant.

"Seems like you already know a lot about me." Ginny laughed a bit then turned to look at Draco again. He was looking at the sky again now.

"I'm just observant."

"You run your hands through your hair when you're frustrated. Your left eye brow twitches when you're trying to hide your amusement. When you aren't sure of yourself, you lower lip pouts, but only slightly. It's barely noticeable, really." Ginny shrugged and glanced up at the stars again.

"Seems like you know a lot about me too."

"I know that you love chocolate ice cream. And you don't seem to like raisins." Ginny giggled a bit. "I saw you picking them off the bread the house elves gave us before serving us our ice cream. Although you did it really subtly, I bet anyone who wasn't paying attention wouldn't have noticed."

"So you were paying attention."

"Of course. And it looks like I'm not the only one who does." Ginny threw him a half-smile. "But it seems like I'm more observant than you are."

That sounded like a challenge.

"You don't like nuts with your ice cream, your eyes narrow when you're thinking of a good come back, you clench your jaw when you're speechless and you don't like it…" Draco was sitting up now, ticking off all the little things he noticed about her.

"Even though you try to hide it, your eyes twinkle slightly when you're enjoying yourself." She cut him off. "And Draco," Ginny began.

"What?"

"Your eyes are twinkling." She grinned at him.

Draco's face slowly broke into a grin.

"You're smiling!"

He shrugged. "So?"

Ginny blushed. "You should smile more often Malfoy."

"But I smile enough already."

"No you don't."

"Okay fine. I don't then."

"So you should smile more often."

"Then you should give me more reasons to smile."

"Malfoy."

"Weasley."

"Your eyes are still twinkling."

"Your cheeks are pink."

A few minutes of silence.

"Malfoy."

"Weasley."

"We're missing dinner again."

"We can always go to the kitchens."

"And risk getting drunk off ice cream again? I think not." Ginny laughed.

Draco smirked at her. "Ice cream is not the only thing they serve, in case you've forgotten."

"Well, they could put rum in everything else too!"

"Sounds like you're just looking for an excuse to avoid going to the kitchens with me."

"No I'm not!"

"Did I tell you your entire face goes red when you're feeling particularly indignant?"

"Malfoy!"

"Ginny."

"Draco."

"What?"

"Let's go to the kitchens."

Draco shot her an amused look. He dusted off his clothes and held his hand out for her.

"A few days ago, you wouldn't even help me off the ground."

"Well, you wanted us to get to know each other more."

"How is offering me your hand supposed to tell me anything about you?" Ginny raised a brow at him.

"It will tell you that I'm a gentleman."

"Suuuuure." Ginny smirked and grabbed his hand. He swiftly pulled her up to her feet.

"After you."

"Thank you." Ginny grinned again. She was having fun with Draco Malfoy! And she had actually found someone as observant (and maybe even more so) as she was! She smiled a bit to herself as they started walking slowly to the kitchens. Maybe having Draco as her husband wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would be. Maybe they had a shot at passing the test after all.

_Maybe_, she could just stop overanalyzing the situation, and just enjoy it as it lasted.

Those were a lot of maybes for someone who decided not to overanalyze things.

* * *

**Okay, i understand that they're acting a bit out of character here, but i assumed that it would be expected, you know, after that incident in the kitchens.**

**also, i realized that it would be unnatural for them to have noticed so many things about each other already, considering the fact that they've only been "married" for three days, so i made a slight change in the 3rd chapter and arranged for them to have been married for six days. **

**anyway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! it was a bit...fluffy and not very funny but, yeah. :)**

* * *


	7. chap 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Ginny and Draco sat in a fluffy dark green couch in front of the lone fire place (which was insanely big) in the kitchens, eating chocolate pudding.

"I'm sorry for calling you a cheating little dickhead and a lame excuse for a husband, Malfoy. Or, er, Draco." Ginny's ears turned red and she impulsively started biting her lips.

Draco cocked a brow at her, and looked considerably amused. "It's no problem, Weasley. I've been called worse."

Ginny giggled uncomfortably. "Hahaha Malfoy, funny you should say that…"

"If it makes you feel any better, I've called you a lot worse before." Draco looked at her impassively. Even for a proficient observer such as Ginny, Draco was still very difficult to read. She imagined years of training and practice on his part to perfect (almost) his impassiveness.

Ginny let out a little puff of air. "Oh well. At least we're getting along now…I think."

Draco didn't say anything.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Ginny's ears perked up and she darted her eyes around the kitchens. She was pretty sure she heard muffled voices from the other side of the kitchens.

Draco's brows furrowed slightly as he tried to pick up what Ginny might've been hearing.

"The-" Draco's retort was cut off by a soft moan. His eyes widened slightly, then relaxed, then he looked infinitely amused. The rapid transition of Draco's emotions entertained Ginny exceedingly.

"Sounds like some people have found better use for the kitchens." Draco winked at Ginny suggestively.

He winked! Draco never failed to amaze her.

"Want to go check it out?" Ginny grinned at Draco, looking exactly like a self-satisfied child that had just pulled off a rather complicated (but extraordinarily hilarious) prank.

Draco cocked a brow at her again. "I didn't really see you as the type who enjoyed voyeurism."

"Oh shut up Draco. This could be excellent blackmail material!"

Draco shot her another amused look when she proceeded to stand up and creep towards the "noise", taking care to stay as quiet as possible and hide behind the shelves.

Draco silently got up to follow her, chuckling a bit to himself at the ridiculousness of what they were doing. But he enjoyed blackmail as much as the next person (and maybe even more so), and decided that what they were doing could be another source of entertainment for him.

"Shh." Ginny held her fore finger against her lips, instructing Draco to keep quiet, which was rather stupid since he hadn't even made any noise. They assumed that the snogging couple was hiding right behind the shelf they stood against, and Ginny obviously didn't want any unnecessary noises to betray their stealth.

Draco looked at her dubiously. If she didn't want unnecessary noise, she shouldn't have shushed him when he was obviously perfectly capable of remaining stealthy.

Ginny slowly rounded the corner of the shelf and got the surprise of her life.

"Pansy and Dean?!" She couldn't help but shriek. Pansy and Dean were snogging. In the kitchens. Everything about it just screamed 'wrong'.

The two automatically jumped away from each other, as if they had just been singed.

"It was an accident!" Were the first words that shot out of Pansy's mouth. "He…he…he wouldn't stop bickering! I had to shut him up."

"Pansy, it hurts my ear to hear you stammer." Draco said flatly.

The two couples just stared at each other. Ginny's mouth was agape in shock, Draco looked a bit amused (as usual), Dean looked incredibly humiliated and Pansy looked…well, she looked like she had been just sentenced to be gevin the dementor's kiss.

"Well," Dean coughed a bit into his hand. "This has been sufficiently awkward. See you around, er…yeah." Dean stuttered a bit and practically ran out of the kitchens.

"Well." Ginny began.

"Well." Draco shot Ginny another amused look.

"Well." Pansy repeated, rather tentatively. "I must be…off. See you!" And she dashed out of the kitchens as well.

"Well." Ginny began again. "That was, uh, interesting."

"It certainly was."

* * *

Draco must've woken up at the right side of the bed the next morning, as he smirked the morning away. He smirked in the showers, he smirked while brushing his teeth (yes, it's hard but he's a Malfoy and everyone knows that Malfoys can do anything), he smirked while putting on his robes, he smirked all the way down to the Great Hall and even smirked while eating breakfast.

"Okay, I give up Malfoy. What drugs are you on? It must be really good, that smirk hasn't left your face since the minute we got up." Blaise pointed out.

"Nothing, nothing. It's just that something that might interest you happened last night." Draco replied to Blaise as he shot Pansy a wicked grin.

Realization dawned on her face and Pansy started to open her mouth in protest.

"Oh? Do tell." Blaise had noticed Pansy's horrified expression and turned all his attention to the Slytherin King.

"Well, you should certainly hang out in the kitchens more often. Entertainment is inevitable there." Draco couldn't help but snicker at the redness of Pansy's face.

"So, go on." Blaise prompted Draco, looking ridiculously like a gossiping girl.

"Some people decided to _snog_ in the _kitchens_. I know what you're thinking. How _profane_ can they get, right?" Draco and Blaise were gossiping in such a girlish manner, it almost made Pansy laugh. And she might have too, if she could speak (she was too embarrassed, which was new) and if they weren't actually talking about her.

"So who were the blasphemous little rascals?" Blaise grinned, obviously enjoying every word of their conversation.

"Draco and Ginny were SNOGGING in the KITCHENS!" Pansy couldn't keep herself from yelling. She didn't want anyone else to know about the indecent acts she had engaged in with DEAN THOMAS of all people, and in the KITCHENS of all places, too.

Draco's mouth dropped slightly open. All the other students in the Great Hall seemed to have a similar reaction.

"What in the 7th circle of hell gave you the idea that that ever happened?!" Draco practically yelled in return.

From all the way in the other side of the Great Hall, Ginny Weasley sat pale-faced, and her poor brother's head nearly exploded. Recovering quickly, Ginny's face started regaining its color, then she started to laugh.

"Oh, that's rich, Pansy. If I remember correctly, you and Dean were the ones snogging in the kitchens. Not us." Her voice was loud enough to be heard across the hall, and her laughter even more so. "And you seemed to really enjoy it, _Pansy_."

Then it was Dean's turn to turn pale. "Ginny," he began, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "I really don't think this is the type of thing to discuss with someone from the other side of the hall."

"Oh, it's the perfect type of thing to discuss, Dean. Pansy started the conversation anyway." Ginny smirked at him, and she looked like she might've popped with glee.

Blaise guffawed. "I guess I don't need to go to the kitchens for entertainment anymore."

Pansy turned incredibly red, then with every ounce of dignity she had left, turned and walked out of the Great Hall.

Ginny shot a victorious look at Draco, and he smirked at her in return. Draco then decided that if he wanted entertainment, Ginny Weasley was the person to look for.

* * *

**Okay, that was pretty short and lame. But I couldn't think of anything else to the chapter without sacrificing its coherence. So, sorry:P**


	8. chap 8

**hello everyone! here's chapter 8. it's still pretty short but i hope you all like it. don't forget to review:)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 8**

"Such an excellent job you did out there in the Great Hall this morning, Weasley." Draco said in greeting once Ginny arrived at their spot by the lake for that afternoon's bonding session.

"Thank you." Ginny grinned widely and curtsied. "That really taught them, didn't it?" There was a wicked glint in her eye as she sat down across Draco in the grass. Then she quickly got up with a squeal. "Wet grass! Wet!"

Draco chuckled at her and pointed his wand at her spot. A soft incantation later and the grass across him glowed red and returned to normal. "It's dry now."

Ginny smiled at him thankfully and sat down again. "Clever."

Draco just smirked at her.

"Anyway, I'm glad I was able to er, correct Pansy earlier in the Great Hall. Could you imagine what would happen if everyone believed her?" Ginny paused for a moment to allow a disgusted look to take over her face.

Draco laughed sardonically. "Yeah. Great fun that would be."

"Hmm, I suppose it would be. It's always fun to see someone get beaten up by my brother, especially if that someone was you." Ginny laughed and shot him a playful look.

"Funny." Draco said wryly in return. "You are _such_ a violent little vixen."

Ginny giggled. "Thank you."

The two delved into comfortable silence, Ginny staring at nothing with a soft smile playing at her lips, and Draco leaning against the tree, staring at the sky.

"Somebody asked me the funniest thing earlier." Ginny suddenly announced out of nowhere. Draco didn't look particularly interested but Ginny went on anyway. "She asked me if the thought of really kissing you bothered me."

"Oh?" Draco nonchalant voice betrayed the frantic thoughts churning in his brain.

"Yes. And you know what I said?" Ginny didn't bother waiting for Draco's reply. "I told her to imagine herself kissing Professor Snape." Then Ginny started laughing really loudly.

Draco threw Ginny a sharp look.

"Oh wait, there's more!" Ginny managed to say between bursts of laughter. "She said…she said…" Ginny couldn't seem to stop laughing. "She said she wouldn't mind kissing Snape at all, because she thought he was hot! HAHAHAHAHA!" Ginny's back fell against the grass and she went on chortling for a few more minutes.

"Are you quite done yet?" Draco asked her coolly, but with a smile tugging at his lips. Ginny's laughter had this affect on him. He couldn't seem to maintain a straight face when Ginny was laughing.

Ginny heaved in a big breath before sitting up again and nodding, the mirth still evident in her eyes, and a smile still on her lips. There were bits of grass in her messy hair, and her cheeks were pink. The sun was beginning to set behind her, and the rays bounced off Ginny's red hair, creating a sort of flaming halo around her head. Draco then decided that some Weasleys weren't _that_ hideous.

"Good."

"Oh come on, Draco! It was funny! Who in the right mind would find Snape _hot_?" Ginny giggled again.

"I think the right question is who in the right mind would be bothered by the thought of kissing me." Draco replied haughtily.

Ginny guffawed again. "You are so full of yourself."

"I might be, but it's true." Draco replied, still the epitome of cool as he brushed his fingers against his coat and studied his nails.

Ginny smirked and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Malfoy."

Out of nowhere, Draco started crawling towards her, with a predatory smile on his face. When he spotted Ginny's panicked expression, he just smirked. A few seconds later, he was on his hands and knees in front of Ginny, his face a few inches away from hers.

"Uhh…w-what are you doing M-Malf-mmf!" Ginny's eyes flew wide open when Draco's lips descended on hers. His lips were surprisingly soft. Too soft.

Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt his tongue against her lower lip. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she kissed him back. She let go of her inhibitions and started to kiss back, but Draco began to pull away. He had a smug look on his face.

"What in the name of Merlin's shoes did you do that for?" Ginny had intended to yell at him, but it only came out as a murmur.

Draco just smirked some more. "I was just proving to you that nobody in the right mind wouldn't enjoy kissing me."

"Hmph." Ginny flipped her hair airily and turned her back on him. A few moments later, she felt him inching closer to her again and soon enough, she felt his breath on her cheek. She glared at her chest for letting her heart beat so quickly. It was unnatural, really.

"Admit it Weasley. You enjoyed it." Ginny could practically see the smugness in his voice. She just harrumphed in reply.

"Cat caught your tongue, Weasley?"

"No. But you did a while ago." Ginny replied scathingly.

Draco couldn't help but laugh. "You got that right." Then he swiftly pinned her down on the grass.

"Malfoooyyyy!" Ginny whined, not liking how Draco Malfoy was making her feel just one bit. Her thrashing heart, flushing cheeks and the dragons in her stomach vaguely reminded her of her pathetic crush on Harry when she was in her first year. She inwardly shuddered at the thought. "Let me go." Her indignant cry came out as a mere whisper.

"Not until you admit that I'm the best kisser in Hogwarts, and maybe even in the entire British Isles." Draco murmured smoothly against her cheek. He pulled his head away from her again, and she was allowed a few seconds to study how he looked.

He had his hands on her wrists, and was sitting lightly on her stomach. His platinum hair was illuminated by the setting sun, and his gray eyes twinkled with mirth. His smooth, perfect skin annoyed her, and she wanted to tear his lips off him for being so annoyingly kissable and pink. Why did he have to be so hot?

"Never!"

Draco pouted, but this was quickly replaced by another smirk. "Do you want another demonstration then?"

Before Ginny could answer, his head swooped down and once again, his lips covered hers. It took every ounce of self-control Ginny had not to moan. He was _definitely_ the best kisser in Hogwarts.

"What was that?" Draco murmured against her lips. She could feel his smirk.

Oh Merlin, she didn't realize she had said that aloud.

"Nothing." Ginny muttered.

"I think you just admitted that I was the best kisser in Hogwarts."

"No, I don't recall saying such a thing." Ginny tried to appear as cool as possible, but she knew that her cheeks were flaming.

Draco smirked at her. But instead of pushing her to admit it again, he just let go of her wrists and got off her. Ginny rubbed her wrists and sat up. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Draco shot her an amused look.

"I should really hit you for sexually harassing me, but I'm not in the mood just yet. Next time, Malfoy."

"I can't wait, Weasley." Draco replied sarcastically. "You're impossible." He muttered to himself and turned to stare at the castle. What in the world had possessed him to kiss Ginny Weasley- twice! He glared at his chest, threatening it to allow his heart to burst out of it, as it was hammering so loudly in it. Why was his pulse racing? Why did he feel so hot? What was that feeling in this stomach? Oh gods, he was feeling feverish. Hanging out with Ginny Weasley too much had gotten to him. And kissing her only made it worse! He was due for some serious damage control. He quickly got up.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." He said a bit stiffly and tried to saunter towards the castle, but couldn't help but saunter as quickly as possible, taking care not to sacrifice his cool exterior.

Ginny shot his back a bemused look, sighed and lay down on the grass again. Why was Draco Malfoy making her feel so _weird_?

* * *


	9. chap 9

**CHAPTER 9  
**

"What's up with you?" Parvati shot Ginny a curious look when the distressed redhead sighed for the nth time that night. They were all sitting around the fire in the nearly empty (save for the three girls and their friend Hermione, who was reading a book in the other side of the room) Gryffindor common room, after a very satisfying supper in the Great Hall.

"H-huh?" Ginny looked up at her friend's searching eyes sharply and shook her head quite roughly, sending her read hair whipping around her face. "Nothing, nothing! Everything's perfectly fine."

Lavender cocked a brow at her friend, a habit that she had attained from spending too much time with her Slytherin husband. "Really? You seemed really bothered during dinner. You stared at your plate the whole time, and you hardly even touched your food." She cocked her head to the side, furrowing her brows. "Yes, that's very weird behavior, coming from you." She added as an afterthought.

"Say, does this have anything to do with Draco? You were acting normally before the bonding session." Parvati said, a suspicious look dawning over her face.

"No, no. Of course not!" Ginny replied a little too quickly.

Now it was Parvati's turn to cock a brow at her friend. "Have I told you that you're a terrible liar?"

Ginny paled. "Fine." She huffed. Her two friends looked at her expectantly, then she huffed again. Before she could huff a third time, Parvati intervened.

"Spit it out already." Her arms were crossed across her chest, and she had assumed her no-nonsense face. Lavender mirrored Parvati's actions.

Ginny shot her two friends a look that was a cross between irritation, indignation and helplessness. Resigning to her fate, she replied. "Malfoykissedmeandicantbelieveilikedit."

Lavender and Parvati did a double take. "Pardon?" They asked simultaneously.

Ginny let out a shuddering breath. "Malfoy kissed me." She said slowly. "And I can't believe I liked it." She added a bit later. She transferred her gaze on her hands to her friends. "Why don't you two looked surprised or disgusted or… both?"

"Gin, why on earth would we be disgusted? It's Draco Malfoy! The Slytherin sex god! The hottest boy in the British Isles!" Parvati seemed to feel the need to remind her friend of just how perfect Draco Malfoy was.

Ginny shut her eyes. "I am going to pretend that you did not just say that." She opened her eyes again. "You don't find this surprising at all?"

Lavender shrugged. "I guess I expected that it would happen sooner or later."

"What?!" Ginny shrieked, feeling terribly offended. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"It's not that you're like every other girl who has no immunity to his charm and utter sexiness, Gin. It's just that everyone who's smart enough to admit it knows that you two are perfect for each other." Lavender didn't appear to be joking, but Ginny shot her friends an incredulous look anyway.

"What in the name of Hermione's granny knickers are you talking about?" She spluttered. "We are not perfect for each other!"

"Hey!" Hermione yelled defensively from across the room. "Granny knickers are comfy!"

"Yeah but, whatever!" Ginny quickly dismissed the older girl. "We are not perfect for each other!"

"Yeah so obviously, you aren't smart enough to admit it." Parvati rolled her eyes.

"I am smart! All of you are just…mad! Completely, insanely _mad_!"

"We are not mad, Ginny. It's ridiculously obvious, really." Parvati said in a way that seemed like she was telling a four-year old that the boogey man did not exist, which it so obviously did. Only in the wizarding world, they were called Boggarts.

"Oh, you're mad. You're all just too bonkers to admit it." Ginny replied hotly as she furiously stormed up her room. She expected even just a _smidgen_ of sympathy from her best friends, but obviously, she wasn't about to get any. They all seemed particularly gleeful about her predicament and it pissed the hell out of Ginny.

* * *

"Well, _you_ look bothered." Blaise commented a bit offhandedly as he lounged on a green sofa in the Slytherin common room. The three boys were the only occupants, as there was a party in the room of requirement, and most of the Slytherins were already there. The three boys decided to lounge in the common room by themselves before heading for the party. Pansy, on the other hand, had curiously vanished after dinner, and the three boys didn't even want to think about where she might've gone, or rater, _who_ she might've gone to.

Dave's eyes flickered briefly from his book to his friend, then back again to what he was reading. "Yeah, Draco. You do." He confirmed Blaise's statement in the same nonchalant tone.

"I am not bothered, you nances. I'm merely contemplating life." Draco replied in a tone that rivaled his two friends' nonchalant ones. He was sitting on his couch, which was adjacent to the fire place. He had spent the last ten minutes staring at the fire, but he immediately turned his attention to the carpet when he realized that the fire reminded him of Ginny's hair. Stupid, _stupid_ Weasleys and their annoying red hair.

"Ah, life. I guess you realized your life isn't worth much, huh Malfoy?" Blaise drawled. He was buffing his nails, and the topic of life didn't seem to appeal to him at all.

"My life is worth much more than any of yours will ever be. My parents aren't death eaters, I'm the heir to a gargantuan fortune, I'm incredibly handsome and smart…"

"Get over yourself, Draco. You've obviously done something that you regret." Dave interrupted Draco's enumeration of the benefits of being him.

"I have done nothing I regret doing." Draco replied hotly.

"Ah, so you kissed Ginny." Blaise's attention piqued at Draco's reaction to what Blaise had just said. So it was true. He put down his buffer and turned to look at his blond friend.

"You kissed Ginny." He repeated. Draco didn't confirm or deny his statement, and a few moments passed as the three friends sat in silence.

"Was she good? Someone as feisty as her must be a really good kisser." Blaise smirked, knowing that saying something like that would definitely get on Draco's nerves.

"Ye-No! Shut up." Draco looked curiously like a four year old. All pouty and indignant, with his arms crossed across his chest.

Blaise and Dave snickered. "So she was _that_ good."

Draco just huffed and turned his back on his friends to look at the fire-again.

"But it obviously isn't just about the kissing." Blaise's self-assured tone pissed the hell out of Draco, but his aggravation was mostly caused by the fact that Blaise was right.

"You like her!" Dave practically yelled (but not too loud, because Slytherins have far too much dignity to go around yelling loudly), the smugness reverberating in his voice.

Before Draco could disagree, Blaise interjected. "There's no use denying it, mate. It's ridiculously obvious. I know this because even Crabbe and Goyle are beginning to notice things."

"_What_ things, exactly?" Draco replied in a dangerously low voice.

"Well, you have been acting a little bit cheerful these days. And you've beaten up two Slytherin 6th years who've had the misfortune of talking about how hot Ginny is with you within earshot this morning."

"Oh, right." Draco replied. He had almost forgotten about the two boys. The fury had gotten to his head, and he had beaten the two boys up before he could even realize what he was doing. That time, he had told himself that he was just acting like a decent husband would, and he was just staying faithful to Trelawny's rule of being as realistic as possible. Now he had that nagging feeling that Blaise might actually be right.

"How are the two fools?" Draco asked, not really caring about their welfare.

"Oh, Madam Pomfrey seemed to buy the story of them crashing down the stairs. They looked pretty battered and pulpy earlier." Dave replied thoughtfully.

"Serves those two bastards right for being so disrespectful." Draco muttered.

Dave and Blaise snickered again. "What? You would do the same thing to anyone who talked about _your_ wives."

"So are you admitting that you like Ginny Weasley?" Blaise wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the blond.

"I can tolerate her much more than her brother, if that's what you mean." Draco replied evenly.

"No, it is not what I mean. And you know perfectly well what I mean." Blaise rolled his eyes. Really, Draco could be really daft/stubborn sometimes. "In this case though, I think the right question is do you love Ginny Weasley?"

"Draco shot his friends a sharp look, indicating that he wanted to drop the topic at hand. "I think it's time for us to head to the Room of Requirement."

"But things were just starting to get interesting here!" Dave interjected.

Draco's icy glare shut his friend up.

"The Room of Requirement it is." Dave announced, getting up to head for the portrait, leaving Blaise snickering behind his back, and Draco, looking as broody as ever. (But still unbelievably, undeniably hot)

* * *

"Do we really have to go?" Ginny whined as her two friends shuffled through their closets, haphazardly discarding rejected clothes over their shoulders. Ginny was sitting down on her bed in her knickers, watching her friends as they scavenged the closets, pouting a bit because her friends were so blatantly ignoring her. After what seemed like a thousand light years, Parvati slowly straightened up and turned to her.

"Yes, Ginny. We have to go."

"But _WHY_?"

Parvati folded her hands across her chest. "_Because_. Now hurry up and put this on." Parvati unfolded her hands and tossed something gold and shimmery at Ginny. Something Ginny assumed to be a handkerchief. She caught it carelessly in her hands, and a bemused look settled in her face.

"You want me to put on a handkerchief?"

"It's a dress, silly." Lavender giggled a bit at her friend's daftness.

Ginny pinched the sides of the so-called "dress" and let it unfurl in front of her. It was indeed, a dress. A dark gold dress that shimmered in the light. She scrunched up her face a bit at the thought of wearing something so _revealing_, but she hurriedly put it on anyway. The thin straps showed of her creamy shoulders, and she was relieved to see that it covered at least a third of her thighs. Her friends usually made her wear dresses _much_ shorter.

She looked up at her friends to see that they had changed clothes as well. Parvati was in a little black dress and Lavender was wearing a royal blue one. They had already fixed their hair and make up, so they promptly turned to Ginny to bombard her with beauty spells as well. A few minutes later, Parvati and Lavender had decided that they were ready to go.

* * *

The music was loud. There was lots of moaning involved, and the beat was fast and catchy. Draco had concluded that they were playing music by Lianna, a witch whose music almost every teenage wizard and witch found perfect for parties such as this. Draco didn't like it.

It was also very crowded. Everyone was crammed in the dance floor, but Draco didn't really mind, as he had the open bar all to himself. His two friends who had disappeared into the crowd the moment they arrived suddenly appeared before him.

"Witherward has been staring at you all evening, mate!" Blaise yelled to be heard over the loud beats reverberating in the room.

"Who?" Draco asked, not looking the least bit interested.

Dave rolled his eyes and laughed. "You know who. Witherward. The Ravenclaw you made out with before, making Ginny threaten to castrate you among other things for risking your grade."

Draco casually sipped at his third fire whisky. He was getting a little bit woozy.

"Okay." He replied. So what if Grace Witherward was staring at him? All girls (and quite a number of guys) stared at him. It wasn't his fault he was so handsome.

"Knew it." Blaise announced decisively.

"Knew what?" Draco narrowed his eyes at his friend.

But before Blaise could reply to Draco's question, the said Ravenclaw slut squeezed her way through the crowd and into Draco's side.

"Hey Draco." She murmured huskily, smirking sexily at him.

Draco took one look at her dark ebony hair, a color that was completely not red, and decided he did not like her. Before he could tell her to piss off, however, she managed to pull his head down towards hers and crash her lips into his.

When Grace pulled away from him a few moments later, there was a wicked smirk on her lips, and Draco watched her as she tossed a victorious glance towards the door, where Draco spotted Ginny Weasley standing, with her mouth hanging open. For a moment there, Draco thought he might be happier if Ginny were furious not because he might get several points deducted from their grade (which wasn't really possible as there was rightfully no professor in sight), but because she was jealous of Grace.

A fleeting surge of happiness flowed through his veins when Ginny sharply turned on her heel and stormed out the door (she was obviously jealous), but his euphoria was short-lived. Even though Draco Malfoy was only three bottles of fire whisky away from getting drunk, he knew what kind of a mess he had gotten himself into. And it was a big one. A colossal mess, really.

* * *

**This is the same author's note I posted at the end of the latest chapter of my other story**

**Hello, everyone! Have you all watched the 5****th**** movie of Harry Potter? Most people found it disappointing, but I personally thought it was okay. By the way, I hate to admit it but movie Draco does absolutely nothing for me, although movie Ginny seems to be getting prettier. But for all of my stories, I'm just going to pretend that they're both drop dead gorgeous, because everyone just loves beautiful people! Haha!**

**Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter took so long but nevertheless, I hope you all enjoyed it. If you loved it, go ahead and tell me how much by posting a review. It will be greatly appreciated:) If you didn't like it at all, or if you found annoying flaws in my writing, go ahead and tell me. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. **

**Oh, and P.S., I'm sorry if I stop replying to your reviews, my schedule has gotten a little more hectic, and I've hardly enough time for myself. So, I just want to let you know that I LOVE you all, and I ADORE all your reviews. They're all very encouraging, and they keep me from abandoning my writing. **

**As for the next chapter, I hope it won't take too long for me to update, but I certainly will, so please don't give up on me! Just review and I will love you all forever. Heehee. **

**And ONE MORE THING! I have another new story, but it's only a one shot. Not much DG action, but still very sweet. (For me, at least) Now go ahead and read it and remember to review if you want to make my day!:)**

**I'm sorry for the incredibly long author's note, so I'll just end it here. You all stay lovely and wonderful, alright?**

**Much love from me!**

* * *


	10. chap 10

**CHAPTER 10**

Grace was still smirking at Draco when he decided to turn his attention back to her. She was a very conniving witch, really. She should've been sorted into Slytherin.

"_Tu es une vraie plaie_." (You're a pain in the ass) He muttered to her, and she obviously did not understand a word that he just said. But no matter, he didn't care.

With one last bored look at her, he stood up and strode over to the door as fast as he could, with only one thought in mind: he had to go after Ginny. He had one guess to where she might be – and although it was pretty far away, he managed to get there in less than ten minutes.

He stood in front of the fruit painting, tickled the pear, and waited with the slightest bit of impatience and nervousness churning in his stomach.

The painting gave way to reveal the Kitchens, and he didn't have to go all the way in and check if she was there, because he could see her hair through the shelves of assorted ingredients in the huge kitchen.

He knew her too well.

He took somewhat cautious steps towards her, and it wasn't long until he was standing right behind her. She was seated on one of the picnic tables, head hunched over something in concentration, and he could barely see her hand, much less her face, under the mass of long, wavy red hair. But by the way that her arm was moving from under the curtain of her hair, he could tell she was writing something.

He watched her for a few moments, vaguely wondering if she really hadn't felt his presence, or If she was just ignoring him, before deciding to make his presence known (or if it already had been known, acknowledged) by clearing his throat.

Ginny's head whipped towards his direction, sending the silky strands of her hair flying before cascading in waves down her back. She fixed her hazel eyes on him, and she looked slightly irritated. Why did she have to be so infuriatingly beautiful?

"What?"

Draco stared at her for a few moments. What was he going to answer to that? Why did he follow her anyway? Grace was very pretty, the prettiest girl in Ravenclaw in fact, and a very good snogger to boot. But for some unknown reason, he found himself abandoning her and going after this..._girl_ that confused him to pieces.

"I came here to apologize." Draco said his words slowly, but not too slowly, as if testing whether the words felt right coming out of his mouth. That was what people said when they were sorry, right?

"Apologize?" Ginny repeated lightly. "For what?" She stood up and turned to face him, as her position was a very awkward one for conversing with someone behind her.

"You know." Draco shifted a bit, looking _slightly_ uncomfortable. But just slightly. "The…_encounter_ with Witherward."

"Ah." Ginny replied, then didn't say anything after that. The two just stood staring at each other, and Draco took the opportunity to study Ginny's appearance. She was obviously still wearing the same dress, but now Draco had the chance to look at it up close and study the details. It wasn't a shiny gold, it was dark and matte, but it still shimmered in the dim lighting of the kitchens. He noticed a tiny golden heart embroidered near the left strap of her dress. He looked back up to her eyes. They seemed to be trained on his collar.

"So, I'm sorry." Draco suddenly said after some thought. This was the first time he ever said sorry to someone sincerely.

Ginny's eyes drifted from his collar, to his lips (but for the briefest fraction of a second), then back this eyes.

"It's okay. No professor was around anyway. We're not going to get any points deducted." Ginny's voice seemed very far away, almost like Luna Lovegood's. But he did notice her nibble on her lip ever so slightly, but she stopped immediately.

"But the other students could tell on me."

"No really, it's fine."

Draco was starting to get angry. Did she not care about what happened? A girl just forced herself on him, and she didn't care?

"It's not fine." Draco replied sharply, sounding very much like a child.

"Draco, affairs happen all the time in real marriages. We're acting very realistically here."

Ginny's reasonable, indifferent tone pissed the hell out of Draco. Since when was she the one always so calm and collected?

"But in real marriages, the wife actually cares when her husband cheats on her."

Two minutes went by in silence. (Not that Draco was counting)

"Who said I don't?"

"Don't what?" Draco asked, obviously just wanting to hear her say (or imply) that she cared.

"Care."

Draco half-grinned at her.

"But I didn't say that I do care, either." Ginny's rebuttal deflated Draco's hopes a bit.

"But you do, right?"

Ginny stared at him in silence, and for a moment there, Draco thought she might say she didn't. He didn't know what he would do then.

Ginny shrugged and turned her back on him to walk towards the far end of the shelves, and he watched her disappear into the dark before coming to his senses and going after her.

"You do care, don't you?" Draco's question sounded more of an accusation, and he decided that it didn't come out the right way. He asked her again, in a softer tone this time. "Don't you?"

Ginny appeared to stop and Draco watched her as she started running her finger through the labels of assorted boxes, jars and cans on the shelf. She stopped and took a box out of the shelf. Apparently, she had found what she was looking for.

She sighed and turned to him. "Draco, it's very hard for me not to care." She said in a weary tone, looking at him with her sad brown eyes, and brushed past him on her way back to the table.

He quickly caught up with her and grasped her upper arm. "What are you trying to say?"

Ginny huffed. Draco was supposed to be intelligent. She said this out loud.

Draco shot her a somewhat offended look. "I am!" He replied defensively.

"Then you can figure out what I mean yourself." She brushed past him yet again, and this time he didn't stop her. He followed her quietly back to the table, staying a good three feet behind her, which was a very difficult task as his legs were much longer than hers, and he was naturally a very fast walker.

He watched her plop down on the picnic table and open the box. He peered at the label and saw that it was a box of sugar cookies.

"This project…it's very inconvenient." Ginny suddenly said.

Draco just stared at her, not sure whether he should be offended or agree. But he was a _bit_ hurt. Did she find spending time with him that horrible?

When Draco didn't reply, Ginny went on. "I'm sure you agree, Draco. If we didn't have this project, you could go on with your public displays of affection and just snog any random girl you want to in the hallways."

"I don't want to snog any random girls." Draco replied a bit stiffly.

"You can snog any random boy you want, then." Ginny took a bite out of a heart-shaped cookie and looked at him innocently. He was torn between throwing her into the lake, snatching the box of cookies from her hand, yelling at her, and perhaps….kissing her.

He did none of the above. "I don't want to snog any random boys either. Ginny," He said her name with a hint of impatience in his voice. "Witherward forced herself on me. I'm a bit….er, under the influence."

Ginny regarded Draco's expression. He seemed sincere enough. But with boys, you can never be too sure. Especially if he was a Malfoy, and a Slytherin one at that.

Ginny nodded curtly at him. "You are forgiven…for now."

"For now." Draco repeated, and he could feel the dryness in his throat.

Ginny nodded at him again, then shoved the box in front of his face. He looked at her bemusedly, but she still had a serious look on her face.

"Go on, get one."

Draco shot her a look as if saying he thought she was crazy, but dug his hand in the box and fished out a Hypogriff-shaped cookie. He bit its head, and a corner of Ginny's mouth twitched upwards. He couldn't help but smirk himself.

For some unknown reason, he looked down at their feet.

"Hey, why aren't you wearing any shoes?"

"Oh." The tips of Ginny's ears turned red; he could still catch a glimpse of them through the waves of her dark red hair. "I forgot to put a pair on." She grinned sheepishly up at him.

Draco just stared at her. Why was she so beautiful?

"Anyway, if you feel like making out with that whore again, be careful. You don't want to catch any STD's." Ginny said, sounding perfectly serious, before turning around and muttering something under her breath in French. But Draco could only make out a few words. And translating them to English didn't make them any more pleasant.

* * *

**Okay, that was pathetically short. But at least it was a quick update. I promise to make the next chapter longer!**


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